Interlocking rail-joint.



J. F. BARNHILL.

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INTERLQCKING RAIL-Joint.

Speccation o1' Letters Patent. l Patented Apr. 15, 1913.

Application filed March 28, 1912. Serial No. 686,737.

This invention comprehends certain new and useful improvements in rail joints of the rail interlocking type.

The inventioii has for its primar object an improved construction of rai end,

whereby the two endsof the rails may be formed at arelatively low cost, and whereby the ends of the rails will be brought tol get-her on a dead level and maintained securely in that position, while at the saine time, they are so formed that they need be inclined only to a relatively low angle to the horizontal, in order to Vpermit one lend to be disconnected by a sidewise movement from the other,

The invention also has for its object a rail joint formed by the lends ofthe rails whereby a practically continuous tread surface is produced, thereby doing away with the clicking noise which would otherwise be produced by the car Wheels striking the ends of the rails in running over the track and the subsequentl rounding and hat-tering of the rails. i

A further object of. the invention is a rail joint which will positively` prevent the rails from spreadingat 'the-` joints, thereby 40 #bolts becoming loose from the jar and vibraeliminating the liability of' the accidents from' this cause which are of common occurrence onl account of the fish plates and tion.

A still-further object of the invention isl a rail joint which willA do `away with` low joints and will avoid the necessityof using sh plates, bolts, nuts, Washers `and nut loc-ks at theI joints as well as eifecti'ngeco'no# mies in the laying and .maintenanceof the tracks as .al-l labor 'which `is ordinarily` requiredto tighten up and-'replace the fastening devices is done away with. l

Another object of thev invention isa-devicel of this character' bytheuse-of whichthe jar and vibration produced upon the rolling",`

stock is in a. large measure overcome` Wit the result of saving wear and tear both upon the rolling stock and upon the track.

A further object is the provision of a rail joint which will allow for expansion .and contraction, each ljoint taking care of itself in. this regard.

The invention also has for its object a rail joint which is so constructed and arranged that the rail will be practcall as strong at the joint as it is in the middle of the rail, .the life of the track being appreciably increased and the cost of inspection and repairs greatly reducedas well as the cost of installation, and a further object of the invention is a rail joint in which there will always be at least threefcontact points in the` joint between the two rail ends, whereby a bond is furnished without the use of copper bonding wires, when adapting the rail to electric roads or in the use of electric signaling systems.

Vith these and other objects in view as will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain constructions, arrangements and combinations.l of .the parts that I shall hereinafter fully describe and claim. j j

For a full understanding of the invention reference is to be had to thefollowing description and accompanying drawing, in which-- Figure lfis a side elevation of a rail joint embodying the improvements of my present invention; 2 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof; Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view, the section being takenk `a proximately on the line 33 of Fig. l; an Figs. 4 andA4 Corresponding and like parts are referred to in thejfollowing description and designated in the accompanyingdrawing by the samerefererice characters. A

- Referring to the drawings, the numerals v1- and 2 designate portions Aof the rails, the

ends "of which kareprovided with `my im- .,Vprovedgjoint adapted for, interlocking engagement with each other. The rail 2 is providedin .its end witha vertically disposed .Extension `web 3 which extends -from thertread'surflace of the ball ofthe rail down.; to and tlushwith` the 'base thereof, the terminal face of said extension web being x inclined to the vertical. This extension web ing locking tongue 4 which is formed as a longitudinal end extension of a thickened web 5, said web being thickened'to such an extent at the end of the rail that its side faces at the end will incline gradually from,

the head of the rail down to the base ilanges, as clearly illustrated in the drawing. The locking tongue 4 has its side faces conforming to the'inclination of the sides of the thickened web 5 and is curved forwardly and downwardly on both upper and lower surfaces, t-he upper curved convex surface.

being designated 6 and the lower concave surface being designated 7. In addition to these longitudinally extending convex and' concave surfaces C Vand 7, .the free end of the locking tongue 4 is transversely curved upwardly as indicated at 8, whereby the sides of the end project'downwardly lower than the middle portion. When looking directly at the end of the rail, it will be noted that the extension web 3, which is interrupted by the tongue 4, embodies a relativelynarrow upper portion 9 and a wider portion 10. In looking at the side of the rail, it will be noted that the upper and lower portions of the terminal face of the extension web 3 are in the same oblique plane.

Coming now to the coinplemental rail 1,

it will be seen that this rail is formed vat its end with a thickened web portion 11 corresponding to the web 5 of the rail 2, this thickened portion being formed with an inwardly extended curved recess,'the upper walll of which, designated 12, corresponds in curvature to the upper convex wall 6 of the f tongue 4, while the bottom wall of the recess, designated 13, is transversely rounded f as at 14`to fit the transversely curved edge of the tongue 4 and is thence, toward its exv tremity, longitudinally rounded as at 15 to correspond to the concave lower wall 8 of the.

tongue 4'. The bottom wall of the recess in the web 11 is intersected by a Wedge shaped opening 16 corresponding in shape'and size to the lower portion 10 of the extension web 3, and the upper wall of the said recess is correspondinglyA intersected by an openingv` 17 which is in the head of the rail and which' corresponds in shape and size to the .upper-` jointin standards, girders, beams or other Fromthe foregoing description in connecportion 9 of the extension web 3.

.the recess in the end of the rail-1, he rail lends being then lowered so that the rails will lie horizontally, whereupon the exten-` sion web 3 will have ,its upper portion 9 and 'its lower portion 10 accurately seated in the upper andlowr recesses in the'end of the rail 1. Thus the parts will be securely held together and the rail ends will be prevented from sinking and spreading, as well as from separating in either a lateral or longitudinal direction. v

It is to be particularly noted that the locking tongue 4 is slightly less in thickness than the width of the recess/into which it fits, whereby provision is made for the contractionand expansion of the rails, while at the same time the rails will .always be held together in at least a'three point contact whereby the necessity of using bonding wires or the like is avoided. The rails are in nowise weakened by the formation of the recesses to receive the extension web 3 and locking tongue 4, owing to the fact that the main webs are widened at the joint and properly reinforce the parts.

By reference to Figs. land 2 of the drawing, it will be seen that the v-upper curved surface of the locking tongue 4 terminates at its highest point in a flat horizontal sur.- face 6 on which the adjoining surface of the other rail end rides, whereby the contraction and expansion of the rails is provided for without any liability of sagging.

It will be seen that I have provided a very simple, and useful construction of rail joint,

of using fish plates and the fasteners which.

are ordinarily employed therewith.

Among other advantages possessed by this invention, it may be stated that with this construction, the parts may be easily formed by stamping them with double dies without the necessity of machining the parts and that, owing to the transversely straight surface of the longitudinally curved convex surface 6 of the tongue 4 and the specific formation of the terminal face of the web 3, which is inclined to the vert-ical, as clearly shown in the drawing, it is only/necessary to incline the abutting ends/of the rails to a relatively small angle to the horizontal in order to permit one end to be slipped laterally and thus disengaged from an adjoining end.

It is to be understood that while my invention is primarily designed for use as a rail joint, it is equally susceptible of use as a thickened web and at its end with a verti cally disposed extension web, the said `rail being provided with a forwardly and downwardly curved locking tongue which intersects the extension web intermediate of the upper and lower ends thereof, the upper and lower' portions of the said extension web lying in the same oblique plane and tapering from the tread surface of the rail to the base thereof, the upper surface of said tongue being convex in a longitudinal direction but straight and plane in a transverse direction, the other meeting end being formed with a thickened web and a longitudinal recess therein, said recess accommodatt ing said locking `tongue and the upper surface of said recess conforming in shape and curvature to the upper face ef said tongue, the end of the last named rail being formed in it-s head and basewith recesses in which the upper and lower ends of the extension web tit.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aiix my signature in the presence 'of two witnesses.

JESSE F. BARNHILL.

Witnesses LILLIEl E. PIERCE, HARRY MCGEE.

Gop'es of this patent may-be obtained for ve cents eacli, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

